Arts & Entertainment

Visiting virtuoso

Organist Cameron Carpenter makes D.C.-area debut next weekend

Published

13 years ago

April 7, 2013

Cameron Carpenter, organist
Music Center at Strathmore
5301 Tucker Lane
North Bethesda, MD
April 12
8 p.m.
$25-40
301-581-5100
Strathmore.org
Cameroncarpenter.com

Organist Cameron Carpenter. (Photo by Heiko Laschitzki; courtesy Bucklesweet Media)

Organist Cameron Carpenter is a tangle of apparent contradictions.

On one hand, he’s made a slightly daring fashion sensibility a central component of his stage persona, yet in stage speech (banter is way too light a term for it) and conversation, he comes off as deadly earnest. But perhaps this says more about us — why do we tend to think that mohawks and sequins might indicate a less-than-intellectual musical mind?

Perhaps because he takes — in some ways — a rock star approach to being a serious (Juilliard-trained) classical musician and seems to delight in unorthodox and even iconoclastic approaches (his transcriptions of piano and orchestral works to the organ have elicited everything from critical awe to “is-this-a-joke?” reactions), Carpenter is a polarizing figure.

But get to know the queer, Berlin-based organist, follow his career over several years and play devil’s advocate with him — as we’ve done here — and you realize the creativity and talent he brings to it all far supercedes the reductions of dozens of articles and TV profiles around the world that have reduced him to little more than a “bad boy” or “modern-day Liberace.” Yes, there’s grumbling in more staid organ-world circles (one often notices a trend of rather bemused expressions when his name is uttered), but try to think of young organists who are sparking the kind of raves and career he has managed, and the list gets really, really short. He makes his Washington-area debut April 12 at the Strathmore.

Carpenter, in Georgia with a friend who’s having him give a private recital at a pipe organ this person has installed in his house, says he feels little pressure generally speaking. We chatted for about an hour in mid-March by phone.

“I am conscious of it at times and I sometimes have the sudden realization of deadlines coming up but though this may sound supremely arrogant, when I later manage to pull it off, I realize I should never have had any self doubt. I think this theory is sound … I try to stay away from getting too caught up in pressure and luckily I don’t get stage fright.”

Carpenter remains — a recurring theme — frustrated by constantly having to adapt to the organs in various concert halls around the world. Purists are skeptical, but Carpenter expects a touring organ he’s been working on for several years will be “built and launched” next year.

Of the grand tradition of grand organ building, Carpenter says what he’s trying to do doesn’t diminish those achievements.

“It’s not how many rooms full of wooden pipes there are or how many degrees someone has or how many works one has written for the organ,” he says. “It’s only interesting in terms of human emotion and how it makes us feel to be alive.”

He says constantly having to get accustomed to new organs has become maddening.

“The closest analogy I can come up with is if you made a film and every time you screened it, you had to recut the edit. There’s a staggering amount of work that goes into each minute of film. It would be almost unsustainable. That’s why touring for me is so very hard.”

Although it’s highly likely to change — Carpenter has been known to have programs printed, then play nothing listed on them — he says his Strathmore performance may contain an organ adaptation of Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide” Overture, perhaps some Marcel Dupre variations, a reimagining of a scherzo by Tchaikovsky and “maybe” some Liszt Transcendental Etudes.

“It all depends on the organ, which is as yet unknown,” he says.

Carpenter says he can’t relay details just yet, but an announcement about a new recording deal is imminent. His last album was 2010’s “Cameron Live!” release (a CD/DVD double album). A feature-length documentary on his life and work is also “very much in the planning stages,” he says.

“I don’t really see myself as someday having a recorded legacy of 70 CDs, but I do think it would be great if each of them … is something really personal and strong. … I’ve also wanted to wait until the right recording instrument would be available so I’ve been focusing most of my energy on that for now. I don’t have any particular compulsion to record just for its own sake.”

He says he appreciates media coverage immensely so objecting to superficial comparisons of performers from bygone eras isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“It is kind of knee-jerk and wildly reductive, but they can’t be blamed for trying to sell tickets,” he says. “I wouldn’t mind if I never hear the phrase ‘bad boy of the organ’ ever again but it’s a sad truism I guess.”

And of the Mohawk he’s been sporting of late, Carpenter says it’s here to stay at least for now.

“I think I’ve settled on something that hits a visual balance of elegance and style. It’s also the haircut of a warrior which is not inappropriate.”

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Photos

PHOTOS: ‘Studio 69’

Glitterati Productions hold party at Bunker

Published

25 minutes ago

May 11, 2026

Michael Key

'Studio 69' was held at Bunker on Friday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Glitterati Productions held the “Studio 69” party at Bunker on Friday, May 8.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Arts & Entertainment

Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns June 13 to kick off D.C. Pride week

Pride on the Pier officially launches Pride Week in D.C.

Published

6 hours ago

May 11, 2026

Staff reports

The Washington Blade’s annual Pride on the Pier celebration returns to The Wharf on Saturday, June 13, 2026 from 4-9 p.m., bringing thousands of LGBTQ community members and allies together for an unforgettable waterfront celebration to kick off Pride week in Washington, D.C.

Now in its eighth year, Washington Blade Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Wharf waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older.

“Pride on the Pier has become one of the signature moments of Pride in D.C.,” said Lynne Brown, publisher of the Washington Blade. “There’s nothing like watching our community come together on the waterfront with live music and incredible energy as we kick off Pride week.”

Pride on the Pier is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets available for exclusive pier access to the Dockmaster Building. To purchase VIP tickets visit www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip.

Additional entertainment announcements, sponsor activations, and event details will be released in the coming weeks.

Event Details:

📍 Location: District Pier at The Wharf (101 District Sq SW, Washington, DC)
📅 Dates: Friday, 13, 2026

⏱️ 4-9PM
🎟️ VIP Tickets: www.PrideOnThePierDC.com/VIP

Theater

National tour of ‘Gatsby’ comes to National Theatre

Out actor Edward Staudenmayer talks playing the show’s gangster

Published

1 day ago

May 10, 2026

Patrick Folliard

Edward Staudenmayer plays Meyer Wolfsheim in ‘The Great Gatsby.’ (Photo courtesy National Theatre)

‘The Great Gatsby’
May 12-24
The National Theatre
1321 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
$59-$196
Thenationaldc.com

Often dubbed “The Great American Novel” for its depiction of ambition and self-invention alongside the reversals of success, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” says it all in a fast read.

Set against the excesses and energy of the Roaring Twenties, “The Great Gatsby,” novel and now the same-titled hit Broadway musical with a jazz/pop original score by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen, tells the story of Nick Carraway and his friendship with Jay Gatsby, an enigmatic millionaire intent on reuniting with ex-lover, Daisy Buchanan.

It was during a four-month 2025 run in Seoul, South Korea, that out actor Edward Staudenmayer first played the show’s heavy, Meyer Wolfsheim, a gangster who helped Gatsby make his murkily acquired fortune. As Meyer, Staudenmayer opens the second act with, appropriately enough, “Shady.”

Now three months into a year-long North American tour, the show is poised to enjoy a brief run at Washington’s National Theatre (5/12-5/24).

While putting on his eyeliner prior to a recent Wednesday matinee at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre, the upstate New York-based actor shared about Gatsby and a life in theater.

WASHINGTON BLADE: Despite your good looks and terrific voice, you’re rarely the leading the man. How is that?

EDWARD STAUDENMAYER: I’m definitely a character man. I’ve been painting lines on my face to play old men since I was in high school. I was the youngest freshman in college playing old Uncle Sorin [in Chekhov’s “The Seagull”].

There have been many villains. Some darker than others. Meyer Wolfsheim is a very bad guy, but he doesn’t haunt me once I’m offstage. I play a lot of pickleball.

BLADE: Is it true that like so many of Fitzgerald’s characters, Wolfsheim is famously based on someone the writer encountered in life.

STAUDENMEYER: That’s true, Wolfsheim is pretty much a direct portrayal of real-life mobster and 1919 World Series fixer [Arnold Rothstein].

BLADE: When did the 1925 novel first surface on your radar?

STAUDENMAYER: Like many of us, I was assigned “The Great Gatsby” in high school. It was short, and filled with sex and illicit activities. I thought it was great. Definitely wasn’t a Judy Blume novel.

Interestingly, the book wasn’t originally a huge a success for Fitzgerald, but because it was about war and having the girl at home, they gave it to GIs leaving for WWII. After returning, a lot of those guys went on the GI Bill and became English teachers. They assigned the book to their students.

BLADE The idea that the book’s first-person narrator, Nick Carraway, is gay and enamored with Jay Gatsby is long discussed among readers and scholars. Does the musical touch on that?

STAUDENMAYER: Yes, there’s conjecture about Jay and Nick, and it’s implied in our show. It’s also implied about Jordan Baker, Jay’s fleeting romantic interest. Ultimately, she’s a confirmed bachelor, and a professional golfer who only wears pants.

Our performers are really good. Josh Grasso who plays Nick is fantastic. I’ve had to stop watching him in his last scene; it’s not good for Meyer Wolfsheim to take his curtain call crying. Our Gatsby, Jake David Smith, is good too. He’s gorgeous like Superman and sings like an angel.

BLADE: Do you ever imagine backstory for your characters whose sexuality is undefined?

STAUDENMAYER: I do, but not with Wolfsheim. I don’t see it. I’m trying to be as butch as possible with this ruthless killer.

BLADE: Have you had to do that in your career?

STAUDENMAYER: For a long time, I wore a mask to hide my gayness. I worked hard on being believable, that I was into the girl or that I was a tough guy.

It’s a different world now, and it’s so refreshing to be around the younger actors today; they’re remarkably open and comfortable.

BLADE: What was your coming of age like?

STAUDENMAYER: I played high school football in Palm Springs [he chuckles, alluding to the arid gay mecca], and I was pretty good too. But much to the chagrin of my parents and coaches, I quit the team to act in our senior year play. My super butch dad played semi-pro football and he was an ex-cop. I’m named after him. While I didn’t become my dad, I’ve played him often on stage. He was a true Gaston [the bumptious rival in “Beauty and the Beast”]. And like Gaston, he used antlers in all his interior decorating.

BLADE: Did he live to see your success in theater?

STAUDENMAYER: He did. Life was challenging growing up but the last 10 years of his life we couldn’t get off the phone with each other [his voice catches with emotion]. He accepted me entirely, and we became very close.

BLADE: Looking ahead, is there a part you’d especially like to play?

STAUDENMAYER: Like all baritones I’d love to play Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd.” I’ve come close but it hasn’t happened yet. There’s still time.